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In celebration of National Library Week, here is a short list of fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels about the bizarre, hilarious, and enchanting world of libraries. Click on a title or a book cover to place a hold on the item. Fiction The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins The library at Garrison Oaks […]

… the serial killer who leaves behind snowmen as a calling card? The mystery behind Jo Nesbo’s novel, The Snowman, is pretty standard: police investigator Harry Hole stumbles across a series of gruesome murders and disappearances. Two things stand out about these crimes: the women all disappeared on the first snowfall of the year, spanning multiple […]

… the mysterious death of two renowned demonologists? With a premise like that, I instantly knew I had to read Help for the Haunted by John Searles, and boy, was I ever impressed. When it comes to “well-written” stories, whatever that vague term may mean, Help for the Haunted surpassed my wildest expectations. The story follows […]

… Haden’s syndrome, which prevents sufferers from making any voluntary movements, while leaving them fully conscious? This horrific condition is one of the key elements in John Scalzi’s Lock in. However, this is far from a horror novel. Technological advances designed to help people with Haden’s have given them access to a virtual reality called […]

… the mystery surrounding cult horror film director Stanislas Cordova? In Night Film by Marisha Pessl, the story itself is a hardboiled mystery novel with strong horror elements. Scott McGrath, a publicly ridiculed journalist, sets out to revive his reputation by investigating an enigmatic horror film director with a large cult following named Stanislas Cordova. […]

… the once-famous female architect who suddenly goes missing? This forms the central mystery of Maria Semple’s delightful novel, Where’d You Go Bernadette, which I have to admit, I picked up only because the cover was so eye-catching and intriguing. Thankfully, this was a case of judging a book by its cover gone right. The story […]

… the ten year old girl who solves a murder before the police do? C. Alan Bradley’s cozy mystery novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, introduces us to Flavia de Luce, one of the most precocious and inventive heroines in recent literary memory. This was my first foray into the world of cozy […]

… the book that’s part compelling Scandinavian crime thriller, part creepy-as-hell ghost story? In I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, it feels like you’re reading two completely separate story lines. The first follows a group of three friends who travel to the isolated town of Hesteyri to renovate an old house. Problem is, the house seems […]

… the young adult novel that everyone’s reading, but no one is talking about? We Were Liars by E. Lockhart has generated a lot of attention over the last couple months, but the first thing you notice when you open the book is a note from the publisher asking to keep the plot a secret. The […]

… the Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas? This horrific event forms the basis for Gillian Flynn’s aptly named second novel, Dark Places. In the nineteen eighties, Libby Day survived what was eventually dubbed “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas,” when her older brother was convicted for murdering his mother and two of his sisters. Over […]